Deflecting tool



May 13, 1941. F, w SHARP 2,241,486

DEFLECTING TOOL Filed Oct. 9, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet l FRANKVV. SHARE GEM Kym May 13, 1941.

F. w. SHARP 2,241,486

DEFLECTING TOOL 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 9, 1937 FRANKW. SHARP @lmm 5 3mm 6% Patented May 13, 1941 2,241,486 DEFLECTING Tool." 1

Frank W. Sharp, Houston, Tex., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Sharp Deflecting Tool Company, a corporation of Texas Application October 9, 1937, Serial No. 168,276

9 Claims.

The invention relates to an improvement in deflecting tools of the type wherein the direction of the well bore is to .be changed or deflected and it is desirable to provide a tool which is capable of initiating such deflection and at the same time which is capable ofpermitting the introduction of a surveying instrument so that the'amount and direction of the deflection can be ascertained without-removing the drill bit and deflecting tool from the well.

In the drilling of wells by the rotary method where the drill bit is rotatedby means of a drill stem in the well bore, the hole may be inclined due to the various formations encountered and to the rotation of the bitand it becomes necessary to deflect the hole to bring it back to a more nearly vertical course. In other instances it is desirable to purposely deflect the hole in order.

to encounter the desired formation. Needless to say it is necessary that the amount andthe direction of the deflection'be'known, and therefore the present tool is so constructed that a sufveying instrument may be lowered therethrough while the tool is in elevated position in the well bore and in this manner a survey can be made to determine whether or not the deflection is. proceeding in the desired direction and is of the desired amount. Thus with the present construction the deflection and the survey can both be carried on with the deflecting tool in the well bore, as distinguished from prior practices .wherein the deflecting tool had to be removed from thewell bore completely and then, by a. separate operation, a surveying instrument run into the well.

It is an object to lower a deflecting tool into a well bore and to thereafter survey through the drill stem to orient the tool to deflect the well bore in the desired direction; It is also an object to provide a drill bit and deflecting tool which may be used to either continue the drilling of the well bore or to deflect the bore as desired.-

It is one of the objects of the invention to provide a combined drill bit and deflecting member wherein the member is normally deflected so that when it engages the bottom of the well bore the drill :bit will be drawn over into alignment with the deflecting member.

Still another object of the invention is the combination of a drill bit and a slidabledeflecting member so that the drill bit can be moved into a deflecting position as it moves along the deflecting member.

Still another object of the invention is to providea yoke-shaped deflecting member which will straddle the drill bit and be normally positioned out of alignment with the drill bit.

Still another object of the invention is to providea combination drill bit, deflecting member Fig. '1 and shows th and surveying instrument so that the hole can be deflected and the drill bit raised so as to permit the introduction of the surveying instrument.

A still further object of the invention is tddeflect a well bore and measure the deflection thereof without removing the drill bit from the well'b'ore.

Other and further objects of the invention will be readily apparent-"when the following description is considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein: i

Fig. 1 is a side elevation with'certain of the parts in section illustrating thearrangement of the apparatus as it is low into the well bore and moved into engagemeh tn the well bottom.

Fig. 2 is ,a sectionf ta the line 2,2 of

offs osition of the deflecting-member 8.5113 tr dles the bit.

FigI-B is an ;eleva o take at right'angles to Fig.1 and illustrating he Toke-shaped conairmen the lines i the surveying inis'cs which has been tion at which the instrument ispositioned in the deflected hole. w r

The present application relates to the same general subject matter as my prior co-pending application, Serial,jNo. "160,335;"flled August 21, 1937 gor a Deflecting toolgnow Patent No. 2,196,- 944, granted April 9, 1940;" f

In Fig. 1 a well bore 2"-has been illustrated which well bore has been drilled in the-ordinary manner but for some reason or other it is desired to change the direction of the hole and to initiatethe deflecting movement so that the future drilling will proceed in a different. direction.

The assembly used is lowered into the well bore by means of a drill stem or string of pipe which will be connected to the threaded area 3 The drill bit here illustrated is of a peculiar form, as seen by the section in Fig. 2, in that it vis provided with a plurality of outwardly and downwardly inclined webs or flanges 6 which removed from thegsurive instrument and in- 1 dicates the amount and direction of the inclina- I terminate in the lower cutter portions 1. This bit is formed with a shoulder ll) thereon at its upper end and has a passage I5 therethrough.

The deflecting member is illustrated generally at l2 and is in the form of a yoke-shaped piece having the side legs |3 thereon. These legs are arranged to straddle the body portion II of the drill bit and are arranged in the side guideways or trackways' l6. As will be seen in Fig. 2, the guideways iii are of a width to allow a predetermined amount of lateral movement of the deflecting member l2. This yoke is provided with a pointed piece I! thereon which is arranged to be forced into the formation H3 in the bottom of the well bore 2.

In order that the drill bit will be deflected the deflecting member I2 is normally held at an inclination with respect to the stem 4, as best seen in Fig. 1. The inclination. of the member is caused due to the provision of the collar 20 on the upper end of the legs I3. This collar is relatively thin on one side at 2| and relatively thick on one side at 22. An inclined shoulder 23 forms the lower surface of the thin portion 2| and, as seen in Fig. 1, is arranged to abut against the shoulder II! on the uDDCr end of the bit because the collar is tilted or tipped when the thickened portion 22 abuts against a lu 24 which is provided on the shoulder In at one side of the bit. This collar 20 is of suflicient internal diameter so that it may tilt upon the stem 4, as seen in the drawings. In order that the deflecting member l2 will remain tilted, as seen in Fig. 1, a pressure is applied to it by the sleeve 25 which is slidably mounted upon the stem 4 and is normally urged against the collar 20 by the spring 26. In order that the rin 25 will not interfere with the tilting movement of the collar a rounded abutment 21 is formed on the upper surface thereof. Thus when pressure is applied by the ring 25 the lug 24 and the abutment 21 cause the collar 20- to tilt and throw the deflecting member to the position shown in Fig. 1. The pressure applied by the spring 26 may be adjusted by moving the nut 29 along the threaded area 30 on the stem 4.

In operation the parts will be assembled as seen in Fig. 1 and, of course, the inclination of the deflecting member I2 with respect to the drill bit and the stem 4' is known, and, of course. the direction in which the hole is to be deflected is known, so that it is possible to orient the string of pipe into the well bore in any desired manner so that when the deflecting member l2 approaches the well bottom l8 it will face.in the direction in which the inclination is to occur. One manner of orienting the drill stem into position is shown in the patent to Stokenbury, No. 2,088,539, granted July 2'7, 1937.

As the deflecting member approaches the bottom of the well bore the drill bit and the drill stemcan be dropped sharply in an operation which is generally known as spudding. The amount of spudding necessary to properly set the deflecting tool and to cause the drill bii to penetrate the side wall 33 of the well bore, as seen in Fig. 4, will, of course, depend upon the nature of the formation being encountered. In

any event it will be necessary to set the deflecting member .into the formation a sufficient amount to securely anchor" it. When the deflecting member is securely anchored then th drill stem and the stem 4 as well as the drill bit 5 may be rotated if desired and a circulation of fluid may be passed downwardly through the passage 34 in the stem 4 and will thence pass through the opening l5 in the center of the bit.

It will be obvious from Fig. 4 that the deflect ing member i2 has caused the drill bit 5 to move laterally so as to follow the inclination of the deflecting member. This has been caused because of the sliding arrangement of the collar 20 on the stem 4 and the fact that the side legs |3 travel in the guideways Hi. If the point ll of the deflecting member is securely anchored then the drill bit will be caused to follow the inclination of .the legs l3 as it moves downwardly along the legs so that it will gradually be drawn into alignment with the deflecting member and assume the position shown in Fig. 4.

If the deflected portion 35 of the hole is to be continued for any distance, of course, the drill bit may be rotated and the drilling operation in this manner may proceed because of the symmetrical nature of the deflecting member |2. When the deflecting member is in the raised position as seen in Fig. 4 it will not interfere with the drilling operation because it is confined in the guideways l6 and the point acts as a pilot bit to drill away the center of the hole and to insure that the bit 5 will follow the deflected path.

In some instances the deflected hole 35 may be drilled for but a short distance, as seen in Fig. 4, while in other instances the drilling of the hole may be continued for a considerable distance depending upon the nature of the operation which is to be accomplished.

While the description heretofore has provided I for orientation of the bit into the well bore this is not required because the bit and deflecting member may be lowered into the well bore and then the circumferential position of the deflecting member ascertained so that the drill stem may be turned the desired amount to orient the deflecting member.

If it is desired to check on the inclination of the deflected hole 35 by making a survey thereof such an operation is readily possible with the present construction because of the passage 34 in the stem and the opening IS in the drill bit.

Fig. 5 shows the operation of performing the surveying while the drill. bit and deflecting tool are still in the well bore. The deflected bore 35 is shown in Fig. 5 and the drill bit 5 has been raised from the bottom 40 of the deflected hole so as to permit a surveying instrument 4| to pass through the opening |5 therein.

-It seems obvious that such an operation is possible because of the construction of the deflecting member l2 and the spring-pressed ring 25, which will tilt the deflecting member to one side as soon as it is free from engagement with the formation, so that while the deflecting member was aligned with the drill bit while the hole was being drilled, as seen in Fig. 4, when the drill bit is raised the deflecting tool w ll mediately snap to one side and assume the position shown in Fig. 5, so that the surveying instrument may pass through the drill bit. If desired, the shoulder 43 may be provided in the opening I5 and a cooperating shoulder 44 provided on the surveying instrument so that the instrument will not inadvertently pass on through the drill bit.

The instrument 4| is made of a housing 42 which is arranged to contain a surveying device 46 in the lower end and a second such surveying instrument 4'! at the upper end. These two devices are spaced apart by a tube 48 and are enclosed in position by having the base 49 threaded onto the housing 42. A cable 58 may be used to raise and lower the surveying instrument. The tube 48 spaces the bottom device away from the metal drill bit a suflicient distance to avoid its being materially affected thereby.

The surveying device 46 may be of any desired type but is preferably of a well known type wherein a photograph is taken of a disc such as 50, shown in Fig. 8. The impression thereon indicates the inclination and the direction of such inclination of the surveying tool with respect to the vertical at the time the photograph is taken. Such devices per se are well known and adapt themselves for use with the. combination bit and deflecting tool here provided.

Fig. 7 is a section taken on the line 1-1 of the surveying instrument in Fig. 5 and indicates the true north of the instrument, whereas Fig. 6 is a section taken on the line 66 and illustrates a magnetic needle 55, whose position is determined by the provision of a magnet 56 which may be attached to the lower side of the drill bit 5, as seen in Fig. 5. This magnet therefore indicates the orientation of the drill bit 5 at the time the survey is made and a photograph can be made of the position of this needle 55 so that when the surveying tool is withdrawn from the well the operator can ascertain the inclination correct positioning of the parts so that the two pictures obtained may be coordinated. In this manner it is unnecessary to remove the drill bit 5 and re-orient it into the hole and it also enables the operator to check up on the original orientation of the drill bit into the hole and to thereafter continue the deflection in any desired direction.

It is to be understood that drilling may be continued after deflection with the tool because after the member is telescoped to the Fig. 4 position there will be no further deflection if drilling is continued and the bit held against the well bottom. If on the other hand it is desired to further deflect the hole the tool may be raised so the member may snap to one side and the spudding and drilling operations repeated to obtain the desired deflection. Any ordinary drilling operation may be carried on with the device, if desired, without causing any deflection whatever. Thus the deflecting member may be lowered lightly against the well bottom and then rotated. This will cause the deflecting member to move from an eccentric to a concentric path and the bit can be lowered slowly over it so that drilling may proceed without deflection. Thus the tool adapts itself to various conditions and requirements. 1

Broadly the invention contemplates a combination of parts whereby the direction of the well bore may be altered and a survey of the alteration accomplished without removing the drill bit and deflecting tool from the well bore.

What is claimed is:

1. A deflecting tool comprising a stem, a bit thereon, a deflecting member loosely slidable on said stem, means to normally hold said member deflected, said means being yieldable so that said bit may advance into alignment with the deflected member, said member including a yoke to straddle said bit.

2. The combination of a drill stem and bit rigidly connected together, a deflecting member tiltable relative to said stem, and a surveying instrument, means to mount said member on said stem for tilting movement to deflect said bit when said member is anchored in the earth, and additional means to hold said member deflected when the bit is suspended in the well bore, :aid bit having a passage to receive said surveying ool.

3. The combination of a drill bit assembly, a deflector member thereon, a magnet carried by said bit assembly to exert an attraction in the direction of the inclination of said member, a surveying instrument, a passage through said bit for the surveying instrument, and means in said instrument to be actuated by said magnet. 4. The combination of adrill bit, a deflector member thereon, means carried by said bit to exert a magnetic attraction in the direction of the inclination of said member, and a surveying instrument to project through said bit, said instrument including a needle to be attracted by said magnet so that the direction of said deflecting tool may be ascertained upon removal of said instrument.

5. The combination of a drill bit, a deflector member thereon, a magnet carried by said bit to exert an attraction in the direction of the inclination of said member, a surveying instrumentto project through said bit, said instrument including a needle to be attracted by said magnet so that the direction'of said deflecting tool may be ascertained upon-removal of said instrument, and additional means in said instrument to record the inclination of the instrument.

6. A. combination drill bit and deflecting member comprising a stem on said bit, a collar on said member to slide along said stem, and guide means on said bit enclosing said member to direct said bit along said member. I

'7. A method of deflecting well bores comprising the steps of lowering a combination drill bit and deflecting member into the well bore, spudding the deflecting member eccentrically into the bottom to anchor such member, and lowering the drill bit along the deflecting member while rotating both the bit and member until the bit moves into alignment with such member.

8. A method of deflecting well bores comprising the steps of lowering a combination drill bit and deflecting member into the well bore, spudding the deflecting member eccentrically into the bottom to anchor such member, and lowering the drill bit along the deflecting member while rotating both the bit and member until the bit moves into alignment with such member, and continuing the drilling of the bore without further deflecting.

'FRANK w. SHARP. 

